Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1984 )

The Attorney General of Texas JIM MATTOX Dectmber 5. 1984 Attorney General Supreme Court BuildinQ Mr. Rsymon L. Bynum Opinion No. a-239 P. 0. BOX 12545 Conmissioner of Education Austin. TX. 70711. 2545 Texas Education Aglmcy Re: Reconsideration of JM-219 51214752501 201 East 11th Stre’x authority of peace officers Telex 9104574.1387 Austin, Texas 70 701 comissioned by school districts Telecopier 512/475-0266 Dear Mr. Bynum: 714 Jackson. Suits 7W Dallas. TX. 75202.4505 Attorney Genwal Opinion JM-219 (1984) is withdrawn and the 2141742.8944 follotiing is substt.cuted therefor: 4Q24 Alberta Ave.. Suite 160 You have asked the following two questions regarding peace El Paso. TX. 799052793 officers commiiwioned by boards of trustees of independent 915/533-3464 school districts: 91 Texas. Sub 700 1. What are the responsibilities of the Texas oourton. TX. 77002.3111 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards 713x?235888 and Education concerning [such] peace officers? 2. Do [such] peace officers . . . have all the 606 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbaek, TX. 79101.3479 powers. privileges, and immunities of peace 5061747-5238 officers whenever they are in the performance of their off’icial duties even when they are not on school property? ([For example during the] hot 4309 N. Tanth. Suite S pursuit of a person who has connnltted a crime on McAUen. TX. 75501-1585 512M2.4547 school property, the regulation of traffic on contiguous streets, and [the] investigation of crimes committed on school property.) 200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 San Anlonio. TX. 782052797 You advise us that the first question is prompted by the refusal 512l225.4191 of the Commis~3:ton on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to Hcense putative peace officers commissioned An Equal Oppotiunityl pursuant to sec:t:ion 21.483 of the Education Code. Thls section Affirmalive Action Employer provides as follows: The board of trustees of any school district may employ campus security personnel for the purpose of carr],i.ng out the provisions of this subchapter and if the board of trustees authorizes any officer to bear arms then they must commission them as peace officers. Any officer commissioned under this section is vested with al.1 the powers, privile$;es, and imm<ies of peace officers while p. 1074 Mr. Raymon L. Bynum - Page I! (JM-239) on the property under the control and jurisdiction of the district o’c otherwise in the performance of his duties. Any officer assigned to duty and commissioned shall take and file the oath required of peace offfcern, and shall execute and file a good and suffici’znt bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the bo.l:rd of trustees, with two or more good and sufficient sureties. conditioned that he will fairly, imprlrtially, and faithfully perform all the duties th.3.: may be required of him by law. The bond may be ric.ed on from time to time In the name of any perscn injured until the whole amount of the bond Is recovered. Any peace officer commissioned under this section must meet all minimum standarda for peace officers established by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education within one year of his commission, or hds commission shall automatically expire. The explicit langutlg;e of section 21.483 establishes that: (1) a school district ‘aoard of trustees may employ campus security personnel to ciirry out the provisions of subchapter H of chapter 21 of the Education Code; (2) campus securfty personnel commissioned ,a:3 peace officers under section 21.483 possess “all the powerc:, privileges, and ilmrmnf.ties of peace officers while on the property under the control and juris- diction of [their employi:%g school] district or otherwise in the performance of [their] duties”; and (3) officers commissioned under section 21.483 mu8t. wlthin one year of their commisslon, meet all minimum standards for peace officers established by the Texas Commission on Lav# Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, or their commissions automatically expire. Section 6(c) of article 4413(29aa). V.T.C.S., provides that [nlo person who i,ces not have a license issued by the Commission [Orb Law Enforcement Standards snd Educe tion] shal:L be appointed as a peace officer. . . . Section 6(h) of the same statute provides: ‘Peace officer,’ for the purposes of this Act, means only a person so designated by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure. 1965, or by Section 51.212 or 51.214, Pexas Education Code. It has been suggested ,:hat campus security personnel may not under any circumstances be regarded as “peace officers,” because they are not within eltf,er article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal p. 1075 !4r. Rayma L. Bynum - Page 3 (JM-239) Procedure sections 51.:!12 or 51.214 of the Education Code and are therefore ineligible to be licensed as peace offlcers under article 4413(29aa). We agree that campus security personnel commissioned as peace officers under se,:tion 21.483 of the Education Code are not eligible to be licensed 8s “peace officers” by the comrds- sion under article 4413(29aa). The express language of sections 6(c) and 6(h) of artif::le 4413(29aa) dictates this conclusion. This does not mean, however, that such personnel may not be designated as “peace olificers” by a different statute. Section 6(h) of article 4413(2’)aa) provides only that “for purposes of this Act,” &. artic,le 4413(29sa), the term “peace officer” includes only those persons so designated by the enumerated statutes; it does not rule out the possibility that some other act may designate someone as a “peace officer.” And this office has held on several occasions that various sratutes other than article 4413(29aa:m designate certain individuals as “peace officers.” See, e.g., A.ttorney General Opinion MW-54 (1979) and opinions cited therein. Section 21.483 e:rpressly designates as “peace officers” campus security persmnel commissioned as such under that section, and this statute is on an equal footing with article 4413(29aa). When art1c:l.e 4413(29as) and section 21.483 are read together and harmonize&, ss they must be, Calvert v. Fort Worth National Bank, 356 S.‘iJ.2d 918 (Tex. 1962). the conclusion inevitably follows thn: section 21.483 peace officers are a separate and distinct kind of peace ofiicer. They are not “peace off leers” under article 4413(29aa). but they are “peace officers” nevertheless. Of course, they enjoy their status as peace officers only in certain instances, i.e.. “while on the property under the control and jurisdlctionTthe district or otherwise in the performance of [their] duties.” Educ. Code 521.483. In answer to your first question, therefore, because campus security personnel cmm~issioned as “peace officers” under section 21.483 of the Education Code are not eligible to be “peace officers” as defined by article 4413(29aa), the comission has no 1:LcensIng responsibility concerning such officers. Under the express terms of section 21.483, the boards of trustees of the school districts of this state, not the commission, have the discretion to decide whether to comlssion individuals as “peace ,,ff icers” under that statute and the power to issue such commissj,ans if they choose to do so. The boards of trustees must require that anyone commissioned as a “peace officer” under sectLc#n 21.483 must satfsfy the “minimum standards for peace o:ificers established by” the commission. including medical, educ,ntional. testing, and other requirements, within one year. The commission. in its discretion. may consult p. 1076 Mr. Raymon L. Bynum - Page di (JM-239) with such boards on :Ile implamentatiou of the standerds. V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29aa), 02(a)(6). Your second questlou cannot be answered in the abstract. As noted, campus security personnel may be employed “for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of [subchapter h of chapter 21 of the Educal::.on Code].” They are clothed with the powers, privileges, and immunities of peace officers “vhile on the property under the control and jurisdiction of the district or otherwise in the performance of [their] duties. Whether campus security personnel are authorized to engage in the particular activities you describe Is a fact question. The resolution of this questi,>n is dependent upon the scope of their duties as defined by their employing school boards and upon whether they may be said to be “on property under the control and jurisdiction of the district or otherwise in the performance of [their] duties” when they engage in such activities. SUMMARY The Texas Comtafssion or4 Law Enforcement Standards has no licensing responsibility concerning “peace officers” commissioned under section 21.483 o:I the Texas Education Code. The scope of the powers of section 21.483 peace officers depends upon the nature and scope of their duties as defined by their employing school district boards of trustees and upon whether, when they engage in particular activities, they are carrying out the provisions of subchapter M of chapter 21 of thl: Education Code and are “on the property under the control and jurisdiction of [their employing] district or [are] otherwise in the performance of [their] duties.” JIM MATTOX - Attorney General of Texas TOMGREEN First Assistant Attorney General DAVID R. RICHARDS. Executive Assistant Attornc,y General RICK GILPIN Chairman, Opinion Committer, Mr. Raymon L. Bynum - Page ,5 (m-239) Prepared by Jon Bible Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Rick Gilpin. Chairman Jon Bible Susan Garrison Ann Kraatz Jim Moellinger Nancy Sutton p. 1078